The present report refers to an invention patent treating of a method to allow oil removal from non-concentrated orange juice obtained through industrial processing, which method allows the contents of said essential oil to decrease to values lower than 0,033% v/v, a concentration above which the essential oil begins to change qualities of final product, that is, the orange juice.
Large-scale orange juice production comprises processing of the fruit xe2x80x9cin naturaxe2x80x9d through machines called extractors, which promote juice extraction by crushing the fruit as a whole, which operation produces, in addition to the own juice, a certain volume of essential oil derived from the fruit peel.
The essential oil should be removed from the orange juice with the maximum efficiency, since concentrations above 0,033% v/v, cause changes in taste, thereby causing a burning feeling at the mouth when consumed.
Thus, essential oil concentrations above 0,033% are considered harmful to quality of the final product, that is, the orange juice.
Two methods for removal of essential oil which are known today can be mentioned. In one of such methods, the separation principle occurs for difference of density between the aqueous means (juice) and the oily phase, by creating centrifugal forces generated through a rotor. In every equipment used in above-described method, called centrifuges, the less dense oily phase is separated from the aqueous phase (juice), such an oily phase being directed towards the center of the equipment, and the aqueous phase, which obviously is more dense, intended to the rotary field periphery thereof, the collection of both phases (aqueous and oily) being performed apart.
Centrifugal separation is effective provided that both oily and aqueous phases are physically and chemically integral and are not binding through the process called emulsification, which occurs when said aqueous and oily phases are firmly stirred or suffer some shearing processes which are usual during the passage of a liquid inside pumping tubes and systems.
Such a disadvantage restricts the scope of using centrifugal equipment for specific purposes.
Another method also pertaining to the state of technique makes use of vaporization and condensing technology, where condensing units which usually use pipe- and shell-typed heat exchanger, heat exchange equipment with quite higher equipment total volume/heat change area ratio are used.
The usual system to produce oil separation from orange juice according to the second above-described modality shows to be ineffective, mainly in respect of the heat exchange obtained from the present systems, and such a fact) together with the higher volume/dimension of heat exchangers/condensers, generate systems having larger dimensions, a great number of components and high degree of complexity.
Thus, one of the objectives of the present invention patent is providing a method for removing essential oil present in industrially-produced orange juice, which has as main characteristic to allow the extraction of said essential oil, upon use of phases reducing its concentration in orange juice to values lower than 0,033% v/v.
Another objective of this invention patent is providing a method for removing essential oil which is substantially simpler than the methods used today, in addition to promote removal of said substance without, however, interfering with desirable characteristics of the product, that is, its smell and compounds integrating orange essence.